09-10-21: Gene's ICON A5- First Ramp Decent

[@TheJerrydon575]

So the Icon can deploy, and retrack landing gear in the water? That's freaking awesome!!!!!!! The more I see about this plane, the more I'm wanting one!

[@GeneValentino]

Yes Jerry. The landing gear extends and retracts as required.

[@NMIBUBBLE]

Great video The Ramp! Really cool ICON A5 looks like fun to me.

[@GeneValentino]

The ramp was the most difficult engineering effort. But it turned out great. Thanks for the comments.

[@f270]

Awesome! What a cool setup

[@GeneValentino]

Thanks! Appreciated f270!!!

[@discowest2557]

Pretty to Watch,well Done!

[@GeneValentino]

Thanks Discowest ! Yup ... We've got a work in process' here. Stay tuned .. More to come, Gene

[@abovetheclouds1665]

When I first scrolled past the thumbnail I genuinely thought that it was recorded in msfs2020

[@3613jeremy]

Would love a set up like that

[@GeneValentino]

Thanks Jeremy... We worked on this for a LONG time :)

[@3613jeremy]

@@GeneValentino enjoy!!! it's a beautiful set up

[@edwardogomez2919]

Nice providing you have six friends to stand by in the water and deck every time you come back from a flight

[@GeneValentino]

Edwardo… It’s a new ramp. We have made sure it was safe the first few times. 6 people are not required.

[@GeneValentino]

Thanks Joe. This is Perdido Bay, Pensacola, FL.

[@scottherrick7531]

Good job Bud. Well done

[@GeneValentino]

Thanks Scott. Well wishes

[@patrickaalto]

Nice video! Good photography, easy to see what was going on from the drone perspective. The ramp seemed a bit narrow, but perhaps you like the challenge of keeping the plane straight on the ramp? ;)

[@GeneValentino]

Thanks Patrick. Good comments. Well received.

[@hb5318]

That ramp was a perfectly built, It doesn’t take a free way to keep a straight line :)

[@onsushilieferdienst8228]

Wow cool ! Where is this nice place?

[@GeneValentino]

Thanks ... Pensacola, Florida...

[@MartyDidier]

Nice creative design with integrating access for the ICON to a Home Hanger. Seems ruggedly built. Have a few questions... Were there any restrictions Federal, Local or otherwise with adding this to your property? Do Airparks exist near your location? If so, do they include River and Ocean access as well? ICON is an uniquely designed Airplane and may have limitations when requiring distance travel with more then two.

[@GeneValentino]

Hi Marty; Yes, we complied with all regulators. No, there are no airparks immediately nearby. There are 4 controlled fields within 25 miles. I'm on a bay area which is calmer water feeding the Gulf of Mexico. This light sport VFR aircraft is designed for 'not-so-heavy'. Fully loaded, the 20-gallon tank fuels a Rotax engine. 420 mile range, weather permitting. I hope this helps. G

[@MartyDidier]

@@GeneValentino Gene, Thanks for the quick reply. Please explain what Federal and Local Regulations existed. I don’t have a clue with what they are...! Rotax is a common Aircraft used engine and the 20 Gal tank if expanded would increase distance. The ability to have a Ocean access Home and Boat Dock with Airplane and attached Hanger is very attractive even with a limited distance reach. Am looking forward to learning more...

[@MartyDidier]

@@GeneValentino Have a question... I’ve been looking around for an AirPark/Yacht Docking Home. In a way, you have this with your home. The Dock area needs to offer access to the Ocean. Do you know of any? Thanks for your help! Happy Holidays to you and your Family!

[@touchstone8271]

@@MartyDidier the a5 id Lsa, light sport aircraft. Its limitations are 25 gallons of fuel, plane cant have more then a 100hp, plane can only carry 1 passanger. Additionally the lsa has limitations on stall speeds as well such as 40mph. The light sport license is 20 hours training. 15 dual with instruction and 5 solo. Vfr.

[@frontagulus]

Gene, how easy was it to get used to powering into the dock? I imagine some cross-wind would be challenging?

[@GeneValentino]

Your question is a good one. Winds over 8 miles an hour, especially direct crosswinds, are the most difficult. The aircraft maneuvers well at speed in the water. But it’s a sailboat at that point! No prop in the water and therefore you are victim to the winds if they are not working in your favor. My floating dock is positioned based on the Wind Rose analytics. If the ramp is too difficult to reach, I circle around and park it in the floating dock until the wind settles. Otherwise, I’m getting the hell out of there and heading over to the nearest airport to tie down for a day until weather changes.

[@TROUROCKS]

whats the wing loading ? i know its high

[@wavewaker2]

Awesome 👏

[@GeneValentino]

Thanks 🤗

[@robertwalsh5461]

Looks like some serious red algae going on.

[@GeneValentino]

This is brackish water. It is the base of the Perdido River, the true western border, separating Alabama from Florida. Deciduous material upstream causes a brown rusty colored tint in the water. Harmless. We see it each year.

[@robertwalsh5461]

@@GeneValentino Groovy. I just heard there are some alerts for it. Maybe that was Sarasota. Anyway, nice aero plane! How many hours do you have on that 912? When it’s time for a full rebuild have you considered Edge Performance out of Norway? Best,

[@tymatt4555]

Very cool. 👍🏻

[@TegoSuwarto]

good👍👍

[@GeneValentino]

Thanks

[@GeneValentino]

Exactly Patrick..A lot of pinching going on

[@matthewbrice737]

Are you able to power up the ramp? Or do you winch yourself?

[@GeneValentino]

Matthew... Either. The ramp was designed to power up. You can see it in the other videos. However, if winds become severe and it's too risky to power up the ramp, we use the Best Tugs B5. We winch the aircraft onto the ramp and tow it up. Good flight planning should prevent this scenario.

[@joeheitz1833]

So cool Gene! What lake is that?

[@westerlywinds5684]

Lake Earl Grey by the looks of it.

[@joeheitz1833]

@@westerlywinds5684 Finally! Thank ye'!

[@GeneValentino]

Joe. This is Perdido Bay. This body of water is brackish. The Perdido River runs into the Gulf of Mexico, separating Florida from Alabama

[@joeheitz1833]

@@GeneValentino Thanks Gene...I was stumped. Your place is awesome. Congrats!

[@GeneValentino]

Thanks Joe 😁

[@benpoffenberger7173]

Nice!

[@zeke2566]

Icon flying death trap-design of sponsors blocks air flow to tail section resulting in total lack of control and many crashes resulting in stalls,lack of control and death,just ask their flight engeneer,oops you can,t he died in an terrible crash too....

[@GeneValentino]

Feel better? Pilot error has nothing to do with state of the art engineering in this 'light sport' class.

[@zeke2566]

@@GeneValentino no shit,plane design killed 10 people Nd counting,not pilot error ,huge SPONSONS BLOCKING airflow to tail section at certain angles causing loss of control as proven by air flow study -stop your B.S. AND SAVE LIVES OR FACE MAJOR LAWSUIT....

[@GeneValentino]

@@zeke2566 stop your rant. Get help.